Mercer expands Asia Wealth team on the back of growing business and investor interest in private markets 

Asia, 4 July 2022 – Mercer today announced three senior appointments to its Asia Wealth team, with two recent joiners and one Mercer veteran bolstering the firm’s strong regional asset management and alternative investment rosters. Alvin Tay was appointed Chief Portfolio Advisor in Asia and Anubhuti Gupta joined as Principal, Wealth, Singapore on 1 July 2022, while, separately, Henry Ching took on the role of Head of Private Markets, Asia Pacific on 1 April 2022.

The demand from asset owners for sophisticated advisory and solutions services has continued to grow as investment markets face more volatility and are becoming more complex, especially in Asia. This has been accompanied by increased interest in private markets driven by the inflationary environment and the chase for yield. It is critical for an advisory and solutions partner not just to be able to address the breadth of issues its clients face, but also to have the depth in specialized areas like private markets to provide expert guidance.

In his newly created role, Mr Tay is responsible for strengthening Mercer’s Asia Wealth business by advising client portfolios, with a focus on those with significant allocations to alternatives. He has 15 years of experience dealing with institutional investments and was most recently the Head of Investment Risk at The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

”I am excited to be joining Mercer where I will be working closely with our talented investment consultants to bring the breadth of our global alternatives capabilities and continue to improve the world-class services we offer to asset owners. As alternative investments continue to grow in importance, a clear approach to integrating them with the broader portfolio along with deep manager due diligence will be key to achieving successful investment outcomes,” Mr Tay said.

Ms Gupta will be leading and expanding key client relationships in Singapore as well as other Southeast Asia markets like Thailand and Malaysia. Bringing with her some 17 years of asset management experience, Ms Gupta was most recently the Head of AXA-IM Singapore and Head of Investment for APAC, Rosenberg Equities, AXA-IM's equity quant business.

“Companies’ profit margins have been squeezed and so has the potential to capture alpha. The capability to provide differentiated insights in constructing portfolios will distinguish winners from losers. Mercer has extensive research coverage of asset managers’ strategies and I am confident that this edge will help bring better investment outcome to clients,” Ms Gupta said.

Rounding out the new appointments, Mr Ching, previously Mercer’s Head of Asia Real Estate, has been appointed to an expanded role as Head of Private Markets, Asia Pacific, where he will oversee research in private markets investment strategies and assist clients with manager selection across private markets investments in the region. He has been with the firm for 11 years.

Mr Ching’s appointment follows the successful US$4.8 billion close of Mercer’s marquee alternatives fund, Private Investment Partners (PIP)¹, in December 2021.

”Our team of private markets specialists based in the region has been expanding in order to invest ahead of client demand as well as to source attractive investment opportunities. I am excited to be leading the research efforts that support the growth of alternatives in clients’ portfolios in Asia Pacific,” Mr. Ching said.

Janet Li, Mercer’s Wealth Business Leader in Asia, said, “We have seen strong demand for a trusted investment solutions partner from clients across the region. These senior appointments bring extensive experience and will further strengthen our capability in the region. These colleagues will help us to deliver both breadth across multi-asset classes and depth in private markets expertise. Asia is one of the fastest growing regions for our Wealth business and Mercer is committed to expand our competencies, with client needs as our top priority.”

Mr Tay, Ms Gupta and Mr Ching are part of Mercer Wealth’s award-winning team of more than 160 investment professionals across Asia and the broader investment team globally.

Mercer believes in building brighter futures by redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being. Mercer’s approximately 25,000 employees are based in 43 countries and the firm operates in 130 countries. Mercer is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, with 83,000 colleagues and annual revenue of approximately $20 billion. Through its market-leading businesses including Marsh, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment. For more information, visit mercer.com. Follow Mercer on LinkedIn and Twitter.

_{¹ PIP VI consists of a US vehicle for US investors and a Luxembourg vehicle for non-US investors. This press release does not constitute an offer to invest in any Mercer private markets investment vehicle. PIP VI closed in Q4 2021.}